Gazc2 said:I tried the vacuum route however first time I pressurised it there was a leak as it wouldn't hold which is a bit of a dilemma how do you find a leak when there is no water or air pressure in the system ? anyway checked what I could and nothing obvious, the cheap Nielson vacuum pump I got from ebay didn't last long somewhere between putting it on the car once and laying it down on the bench the small knurled part on the release valve sheared off !.
So back to square one , filled the system ran the car with the heater on this highlighted where my leak was the bottom hose on the drivers side rad was not seated properly which was quickly fixed I kept checking for heat in the front hoses giving them a squeeze to pump and feel the coolant moving ,done this a couple of times topping up as I went this all seemed fine got heat in the car and hoses and no leaks so hopefully good to go however will need to take it for a run and re-check.
how did you get on filling yours ?
I used a fleabay tester kit that came with a pressure test adapater as well, so I pressurised the system to whatever was the correct amount and then if there are any leaks you can spray some LDF (gas leak detector) on joints or just soapy water (I prefer LDF though), and where it bubbles you have the leak.
As far as vac tester, I dont think you can find a leak from that; you just know it has a leak lol
Did you drain the engine from the bleed bolts on the lower coolant elbows at the back? as well as pulling the big Henn couplers under the car?
It doesnt empty the whole system anyway as mine proves (I should have pulled hoses from front rads which I would have done if it was on a lift; but couldnt get to them easily) Sounds fine the way you have done it; I couldnt pull more than about 0.7 bar vacuum because my compressor was too weedy (and I had water somewhere up front I think). So I got 20 litres in after that, all heaters work nicely etc but I need to take it on a proper run as the flow to the front rads is hot but the return is luke warm and fans havent kicked in yet. Did your fans kick in? Im going to check them with durametric and if they come on which they should, I will probably drive it at that as I didnt leave it at 3k rpm for X minutes as I think your meant to , to get the fans on. Currently the temp wil not go past the middle marker on the gauge
The last time on a car of mine where the fan didnt come on (a road car with a race motor) I didnt notice until the temp was headed for the red !